Let's Start The New Year Right
by sanumarox123
Summary: Four. The others would be making their way closer to the TV inside by now, but there was no rush, really. Three. They had a moment. Two. And hell, it was New Year's, right? One. / New Year's AU.


**For the prompt I filled on my tumblr, asking for a New Year's Eve countdown AU. I hope this is what he or she meant.**

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><p><em>Ten.<em>

The countdown had begun.

_Nine._

The voices of the crowd at the Old Haunt carried over to where Kate and Castle stood by the outside of the diner, enveloped in an almost isolated area.

_Eight._

His gaze slid over to her and lingered there. She was so beautiful it made his breath hitch in his chest. (As usual.)

_Seven._

Lanie had dressed Kate up for tonight and she looked stunning, standing there in a silk gown, bathed in moonlight. Slim tendrils of dark curls cascaded around her face, framing her pale, creamy skin and red lips.

_Six._

She caught him looking at her and smiled in a way that sent a shiver up and down his spine.

_Five._

They (meaning her) were off duty for the night and tomorrow. Unofficially off the clock.

_Four._

The others would be making their way closer to the TV inside by now, but there was no rush, really.

_Three._

They had a moment.

_Two._

And hell, it was New Year's, right?

_One._

Castle leaned in for a kiss.

She tensed. And then she shoved him.

Hard.

The celebrations started as he collapsed onto the ground. Normally, he was fine when he fell (what with running after killers and all), but this time he wasn't fast enough to put a hand out to lower the momentum.

He laid on the surface and shook his head to clear his mind. "What the hell, Kate?"

She stared down at him, wide-eyed. "I'm sorry! I wasn't expecting it, I reacted on instinct."

"It's New Year's, woman! It's a damn tradition!"

"I said I'm sorry," she said, biting back a grin that made him want to equally grab and kiss

her, as well as yell out his pain to make her feel bad.

He threw his hands up. "Are you gonna stand there laughing at me all night or are you gonna gimme a hand because I think I broke my elbow when you pushed me to the ground?"

She leaned down and stuck out her hand to help him up. Rick grasped it, grinned up at her evilly, and pulled.

Kate squealed as she tumbled headfirst into him in her sparkly dress and high-heeled shoes. A moment later she plopped onto his chest, red-faced, effectively cutting off his blood circulation and breathing, and proceeded to start hitting him with her tiny (compared to his), yet surprisingly effectual fists.

Then she tweaked his ear.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" He yelped. "Apples, damn it!"

"That was mean!" she said, but she quit beating on him (for the time being, anyway).

He smirked at her. "Turnabout's fair play, my friend."

The revelers at the bar had begun singing _Let's Start The New Year Right_, their drunken chorus punctuated by the occasional peal of laughter. Somehow, even though it was freezing, neither Rick nor Kate made a move to get up (the people in the street must think the two of them are equally as drunk or just crazy).

"I haven't seen the point of celebrating New Year's since my mom died," she said.

He rolled his eyes but his heart melted a little bit at her confession. "The point is that the way you spend New Year's Eve is supposed to set the tone for that year. So at midnight you kiss the person you want to spend the rest of the year with. A person you care about deeply. Who isn't your family."

"Oh," she said, wrinkling her brow. "That's sort of nice."

"Yeah, it is."

He maneuvered a little closer. When that seemed to go over well he reached out, tentatively, and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. She didn't flinch; she didn't tense up.

In fact, he was pretty sure he felt her lean into his touch.

"So," he ventured. "If I try to kiss you again are you gonna go all Karate Kid on me this time?"

She shrugged. "Guess you'll have to try it to find out."

He decided to take his chances. This time when he leaned in she wrapped her arms around his neck and met him halfway. Her lips were cold but oh so sweet. Sweet enough to make him forget about the fact that he was freezing damn near to death.

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><p>(That proved to be a good way to start the new year when he's watching her walk down the aisle toward him, beaming brightly and radiantly, not eight months later.)<p>

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><p><strong>Now I'm done writing and gonna go celebrate at my uncle's... place. (Not bar. Totally not a bar.)<strong>

**Happy New Year's Eve, guys! And Happy New Year's to my friends in Europe and Australia, and all those other places where it's already past midnight. **


End file.
